Nightmare
by Maidenstear
Summary: It's a clear night, not a cloud in the sky, a cool breeze...and Sasuke can't sleep.


Aneko: Hi again. I suddenly lost what I was going to say, so…yeah…on with the story!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Nightmare

Team 7 sat under a darkening sky on the open plains close to Konoha Village. They were on their way back from a mission, and they would reach Konoha the next day. They just needed to enter the forest and they would be home.

"…and after that, I'm gonna to go to Ichiraku's and get ten- no, FIFTEEN bowls of ramen." Naruto declared, finishing up his little speech. He had been very dismayed to find that the place their mission had been, there had been no ramen, and he had left most of his instant cup ramen at home.

"Naruto, be quiet." Sakura said tiredly. She didn't even have the energy to hit him on the head. The mission hadn't been very hard, but it had been very _long_, and everyone was tired (minus one hyperactive ninja).

Sasuke sat with his eyes closed, so it was hard to tell whether he was drifting off or not. Kakashi's head was buried in his disgusting book, as usual.

"Yes! One left!"

Sakura looked over to see Naruto pull a cup of ramen out of his pack.

"Want some, Sakura?"

"No, thanks, Sakura declined. She wasn't too hungry; and besides, seeing Naruto eat ramen was enough to make anyone lose their appetite.

"You all should sleep soon. This close to home, we can all get a full night's sleep," Kakashi stated, finally paying attention to his students.

"Hn."(Apparently he _was_ awake…)

"Okay."

"Yep."

Came the three responses.

Sakura was indeed tired, so she curled up, using her pack for a pillow. Her companions soon lay down on either side of her, Sasuke on her right, laying on his side away from her, and Naruto on her left already K'O'd and snoring, arms and legs splayed everywhere. She assumed Kakashi-sensei would be going to sleep soon too, his book over his face like usual.

Sakura sighed in contentment, completely at peace with her team beside her, and closed her eyes to sleep.

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Sasuke blinked, his mind clearing as he tried to figure out what had woken him.

It was still the middle of the night. The stars blazed daringly in a cloudless sky, and a cool breeze gently blew his raven locks.

He sat up silently, to see where the noise was coming from. The Uchiha snorted as Naruto gave a deafening snore. He could not believe this idiot was a ninja sometimes, but he knew this was not what had wakened him. He was used to that.

The sound came again, and Sasuke looked directly beside him to see that Sakura had let out a whimper.

_She must be having a nightmare_, he thought. He stared at her a moment or two longer before turning and lying down again. A nightmare is just a dream after all, and it will pass.

Sasuke was just beginning to doze off again when he heard another whimper from his pink-haired teammate. He sat up again, turning to look at her.

_Even in sleep she's annoying,_ he thought, an irritated frown coming to his face. How was he supposed to sleep like this?

Though he did not show it as much, Sasuke was just as tired as his teammates. If he didn't get any sleep, he would be a very unlikeable person in the morning (well, more so that usual).

Sasuke figured the fastest way to get back to sleep would be to wake her up from the nightmare, until he remembered the last time, and paused in moving his hand to touch her shoulder.

Naruto had tried to wake Sakura up, because they had only been resting and she had fallen asleep from exhaustion. As soon as he had shaken her, he was sent flying. The next moment she was standing in front of him, shouting moodily. It had gotten her up, but it had taken ten minutes to calm the irate kunoichi.

Wishing to keep his pride and dignity intact, Sasuke refrained, but he needed sleep. There _had_ to be a way to get her quiet without waking her up.

Thinking of an idea, Sasuke looked up at the blonde and his teacher. If they saw him, he would never live it down. But Naruto continued to snore obliviously, and Kakashi's book still covered his face.

Very, very slowly, Sasuke reached out with one hand, taking hold of one of Sakura's. It felt oddly small, and he had the strange thought that it fit nicely in his. He noted that she was trembling.

Sasuke noticed a big tear roll down from the corner of her eye. Taking his other, unoccupied hand, he brushed it away. It would be even more annoying if she started crying, because then she couldn't stop for a while., and he didn't want to deal with her sniffing and sobbing too.

Sasuke shifted his position, careful to keep the hand holding Sakura's still. He froze, stiffening as Sakura's fingers curled around his hand. She was still asleep, but now she was holding his hand back.

In a moment Sasuke relaxed again. It was a strange sight, the expressionless boy watching the girl battling her nightmare and holding her hand.

It didn't take long for Sakura's face to become peaceful and stop trembling as she held Sasuke's hand. Sasuke watched her a heartbeat more to make sure she seemed alright before he let go.

Sasuke slowly, almost gently, pulled his hand away from Sakura's. She didn't resist, her face still peaceful.

Sasuke watched her, lingering a bit more, just to make sure, before turning onto his side and going to sleep.

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Aneko: Not what you were expecting? Ha ha! Sounds to me like _someone_ just wanted an excuse to hold our cherry blossom's hand, eh Sasuke?

Sasuke: -very calmly- Shut up.

Aneko: Party pooper…anyway, review please, minna-san. Ja, sayonara!


End file.
